Thousands of people in China have had banned Alzheimer’s surgeryFri, 31 Jul 2026 12:36:11 +0000 Surgery that aims to enhance the clearance of Alzheimer's-associated proteins from the brain has been banned in China, but only after thousands of people had the procedure | |
Where to watch the next total solar eclipse anywhere in the worldFri, 31 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000 The total solar eclipse on 12 August will only be visible to a lucky few, but eclipses happen all over the world – here are the next ones to look out for, wherever you may be | |
Read an extract from The Dog Stars by Peter HellerFri, 31 Jul 2026 08:25:00 +0000 In this extract from Peter Heller’s novel, the August read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are introduced to pilot Hig, who lives alone after most of the world was killed in a superflu pandemic | |
How I wrote The Dog Stars, the novel behind Ridley Scott’s new filmFri, 31 Jul 2026 08:15:00 +0000 Set in an empty world after a superflu pandemic wipes out most of humanity, Peter Heller's The Dog Stars - the August read for the New Scientist Book Club - will be released as a film later this month. He reveals how he came to write it | |
Why full-fledged quantum computers might always be five years awayFri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0000 To predict when we’ll have a truly useful quantum computer, we need to know precisely what one is. Columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan finds that’s harder to pin down than you might think | |
The genome of a long-extinct ancient human is hiding within usThu, 30 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000 We all have bits of DNA from a long-lost “ghost ancestor” inside us – and by putting all the different bits together, we might be able to reconstruct their genome | |
Smallpox DNA in ancient Inca mummies shows virus came from EuropeThu, 30 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000 The mummies of two people who lived in Chile more than 400 years ago carry DNA from smallpox, providing the first molecular evidence that the virus was brought to the Americas from Europe | |
Woolly mammoths butchered by humans were mostly femaleThu, 30 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000 Genetic tests of mammoth remains have found a stark contrast in the sex ratio between sites where the animals died naturally and those associated with humans, offering hints about how our ancestors hunted | |
Origami-inspired sensor could continuously monitor our vital signsThu, 30 Jul 2026 14:01:12 +0000 A tiny sensor that unfolds within the body could continuously monitor our heart activity and breathing after showing promise in rats | |
Henrietta Lacks’s descendant on her legacy – and Rebecca Skloot’s bookThu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Rebecca Skloot told the story of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells were taken without her permission in a bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Reading it left Alison George with an uneasy feeling - so she spoke to Lacks's family | |